Focus Switzerland

It is an honour for us to be present at this year\'s Shanghai International Film Festival with Focus Switzerland and thus continue the fruitful collaboration with the Festival which began in 2008! Thanks to the SIFF, foreign films obtain an international platform in China, enabling five Swiss filmmakers to present their works in 2009.

Xavier Koller, winner of the Academy Award 1991 for Best Foreign Language Film, will personally present his award-winning film “Reise der Hoffnung” and also serve as a member of the International Jury for Competition. Due to its examination and portrayal of the effects of immigration and the hopes of immigrants, “Reise der Hoffnung” is a significant milestone in the history of film. Denis Rabaglia will open Focus Switzerland with his most recent film “Marcello Marcello” on June 16. Similar to Rabaglia’s earlier works, his own biographic propinquity to Switzerland’s neighbouring country to the south, namely Italy, is mirrored in this film. Like many other filmmakers of the younger generation in Switzerland, Denis Rabaglia’s roots also stem from other countries. Experiences derived from these backgrounds are frequently reflected in works by this generation. Oliver Paulus will present a Swiss Bollywood film with “Tandoori Love”. The Swiss Alps have served as the background for a multitude of Indian film productions in this genre. In this film they are the setting of a Swiss production, which astutely depicts a film in a film and enables a fictitious glimpse of the shooting of a Bollywood film. The dance interludes and music lend the film an exhilarating atmosphere. Moritz Gerber takes us on a foray through the urban jungle with thirty-year-olds who are shaped by the entertainment culture and are struggling with life’s decisions. Focus Switzerland will also present “Home” by Ursula Meier. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend this year’s Festival. The film celebrated its premiere in the Critics’ Week section in Cannes in 2008 and went on to win numerous awards at international festivals. Her film was honoured with three QUARTZ awards of the Swiss Film Prize 2009. Ursula Meier presented her fiction film for television “Des épaules solides” personally in Focus on Swiss Female Filmmakers at the SIFF 2008, which also focused on three other female filmmakers: Jeanne Waltz with “Pas Douce”; Bettina Oberli with “Die Herbstzeitlosen” and “Im Nordwind”.

The collaboration with the SIFF is indeed a pleasure in itself. We are looking forward to sharing this pleasure with the professionals at the SIFF and its audience again this year. Our sincere thanks to the Festival for the invitation!